A Frozen Night
by Hell.Fire.Feline
Summary: Chapter 3: Argue. “…I hate it when we argue.” She murmured. The girls eyes stayed fixed to the floor, hoping for a response of some sort, but instead she was met with silence. Kanda's expression didn’t change. KandaxLenalee Friendship fic!
1. Chapter 1: Night

...

There he sat with frown on his face and a glimmer of sorrow in his eyes.

It was a horrible night. The rain lashed against the boarded window of his room, creating a hollow noise which bounced off the wall's and made the air seem thin. This, together with the occasional crash of thunder and the common streak of azure lighting created a scene of depression and sadness, a type of sorrow that was not easily quelled by one person alone.

He snorted loudly, his breath creating a thin puff of white smoke which rose up to the stone ceiling. The room was _freezing _at this time of year; the lack of material objects and the absence of real body heat made the space frigid and unpleasant to be in. But, it was _his _space, so he would stay there, even if he was to freeze to death in the night.

In the corner, the glittering hourglass that housed the tender lotus flower seemed as radiant as ever, as if it didn't even notice the cold. The man, sitting with his covers wrapped securely around him, huddled the thin blanket closer to himself and turned his gaze onto the only noticeable possession he had apart from his sleek katana. There, it seemed to glow even brighter under its masters scrutiny. He snorted again.

What a horrible night it was.

_Knock, knock, knock. _He swivelled his head towards the battered door in surprise. He expected no visitors at all, let alone one at that hour. He debated internally; did he really want to leave the protection of his cocoon for the sake of whoever it was? The _knock _came again. Oh, what was he to do?

He rose, and shivered unpleasantly. His feet froze upon contact with the cold, cold floor, and the hair on his neck stood up like static. Maybe it was a bad idea after all…

"Who is it?" He hesitated before opening. He could hear the shuffling of naked feet against the hard paving of the Order's internal corridors alongside the grinding of the storm at his window.

"Lenalee."

He grimaced at her tone. How could anyone be so cheery at this time of night? He had to open the door now, and so grudgingly, he turned the brass handle and swung it open rather violently, allowing a wave of cold air to blast him. The thin, navy blue dressing gown was no protection. It didn't help that he was wearing nothing on his chest, and was wearing the thinnest blue trousers ever created. He wasn't prepared for winter at all.

"What are you doing here?" It wasn't said kindly. She pouted and clasped her hands together softly, her plush pink pyjamas ruffling at the motion.

"I was wondering," She started, trying to find a way to finish the sentence in a decent way. "If I could sleep in your room?"

His eyes narrowed in confusion. Behind him, in the dark, freezing room, the lotus was strangely the only light source, except for the jolts of lightning that illuminated the walls, revealing all the small cracks and holes left there by unknown circumstances. He turned to look at the window, and motioned at it with the flick of his wrist.

"You wouldn't want to sleep here." He murmured gruffly. "It's very cold." He lowered his hands to stare at her again, his eyes hiding a covert meaning to his words. He could not put the pieces of the puzzle together; why did she want to sleep in there?

"Kanda-kun…" She whispered. "You know…" She turned her head to the side slightly and withdrew slightly from the door. Kanda knew he should know what she was talking about, but he didn't. He tilted his head to the side slightly and jabbed her in the shoulder.

"Spit it out." He was getting even more cold now, and the bite in the air was making him agitated. All he wanted to do was to crawl underneath his blanket and brood, but with her there, he couldn't do anything-

"I don't like thunderstorms!" She suddenly blurted out, flushing at her words. He was taken aback a little, deciding to roll his eyes rather than feel sorry for her. He placed his hands on his hips defiantly and scowled at her in a manor that would have frightened any other person.

"Che." And he stepped aside to let her in.

He didn't know why, but he was always a lot nicer to her than he was to anyone else. Maybe it was because he knew how much everyone around her meant to her, or maybe it was because she was a woman, and therefore he dubbed her more emotional, meaning she needed to be treated more nicer in order to make sure she didn't burst out into tears. He didn't really have any idea as to why he was nicer, but he was.

She was happy. She bounded in in a flurry of pink and green, settling herself on the bed rather comfortably. He simply closed the door, headed over to the opposite wall and slid down it, onto the floor. She looked at him in surprise.

"Kanda-kun, why are you over there?"

"…"

He said nothing, and turned his gray gaze to the broken window, that was patched up with a single board of wood that looked secure but didn't keep out the cold. Lenalee followed his line of sight.

"Your so lazy." She remarked, wagging her finger harshly. "I can't believe you still haven't fixed that window!" In retort, he scowled viciously, but didn't manage to shut her up.

"But don't worry." She smiled sweetly and drew the covers closer to herself as he had done minutes ago. "We can get that fixed at anytime."

"You are not afraid of storms."

The statement caught her off guard. Kanda, an ambassador of truth, knew when someone was lying through their teeth. He could never remember her saying anything about being afraid of thunderstorms.

Lenalee, on the other hand, met his glare with a soft look which portrayed her natural innocence and beauty; an expression she used to get to people, and Kanda was sure to not let himself get caught up in the emotion.

"You got me." She sighed. "Truth be told… I wanted it to be like old times…"

His mind reeled.

"Old… times?"

Ah, he remembered. He remembered when Lenalee used to sleep in his room because she was scared of being trapped, taken away, tortured, ect. He used to like it somewhat; someone else to talk to late at night. They used to play games, and joke about stuff kids shouldn't have joked about, like how many Akuma they had killed in that day or how many people died in the process. That was all before Lavi and Allen came, way back when they were the only two…

"Why?" He murmured. "What do you get by coming here?"

"I don't know. It just felt right… don't you ever get lonely?"

"Lonely?"

She shuffled along the bed so that he could come and sit on it with her. He looked at her critically, and then decided it wouldn't hurt, as it was_ freezing _on the floor. The bed was only made for one person, however, so if they wanted to sleep, one of them would have to sleep on the floor… Kanda shivered unhappily.

"It's every humans nature to feel lonely, sometimes." The bed shifted as he sat down on it and turned to her as she spoke. "I bet sometimes, you want to talk but you can't."

"Who are you to say that?" He puffed and turned away.

"It's ok, Kanda-kun." She threw half of the covers around his back so they were both covered by it. She moved closer to him, and he moved further away, until he was almost at the end of the bed. It looked childish, if not immature.

"Kanda." She yanked his arm towards her, and in response, his whole body stiffened. "What is wrong? Can you not sit near someone you have known since you were young and not feel comfortable?"

There was a brief pause before he relaxed again, and settled under the blanket beside her, their backs against the wall, their legs crossed. The storm outside was getting worse, throwing its full force at the Order, and at his boarded window, that was letting in so much cold air, the man was sure one of them would freeze in the night. However, beside him, a few centimetres away in fact, he could feel the faint warmth of another person. It was odd.

"Lenalee," He started. "I can never go back to how I was before."

"You were not much different that you are now!" She laughed quietly. "Though, you _were _a little more fun." She stuck her tongue out at his expression, which looked rather like a pout.

"It's a shame. You were a lot more cuter then too."

It was her turn to pout as he smirked, knowing that she didn't like it when people said her younger self looked cuter.

"You win." She giggled. "But you see, this is what we used to do. I enjoy these times… I enjoyed _those _times." She sighed heavily and turned her sad eyes on his flower, in an empty corner by itself. She wanted to touch it, for people always want to touch things which are hard to touch, but she refrained, knowing how fragile it was and what it was to him.

"I don't want you to be so reckless in fights anymore." She said stubbornly. His eyes widened at her hard gaze, as if she was trying to set the lotus on fire.

"I'm not reckless." They both knew that was a lie.

"Look. Three of your 'lives' have gone." She indicated the three petals that sat at the bottom of the hourglass with a petite finger. "I don't want anymore to fall off."

"Since when are you my boss?"

She whacked him over the head with the palm of her hand. It wasn't painful, but it was surprising.

"I am not your boss," She yawned, "But I do care."

He hissed silently at her affection, and noted her dazed expression with a turn of his head. She caught his look, and smiled in response. She knew that he knew that she was tired, and so his look was hard and commanding. She gave in.

"I am a _little _tired." She yawned again. "It just suddenly dawned on me what time it was."

"What time is it?"

"Somewhere around three in the morning."

Kanda cringed. He knew that they had to be up in just a few hours to prepare for duty or whatever task awaited them, and they were still awake, talking about trivial things as if it was the early afternoon.

"Get to sleep." He ordered, pointing to nowhere in particular. She raised her eyebrow.

"Since when were you my boss?"

"Since the second you walked into _my _room."

"Ok, fine!"

She stretched out her arms, arched her back and collapsed on Kanda, taking advantage of his position on the bed. Her head on his chest, his head painfully against the wall, her body against the side of his. He jumped in momentary panic and confusion, and swept his eyes over their interlocked bodies. If anyone was to catch them like that… he thought of what Komui would do to him, and tried to escape, but she wouldn't let go of his arm.

"W-hat?!"

"You told me to sleep." She said dozily. "So I am doing that."

"But-"

"Good night, Kanda-kun."

He knew that when a woman indicated the conversation was over, the conversation _was over. _It felt uncomfortable, but if it meant not sleeping on the floor, then he was… ok with that.

She smiled. He was going to have to get used to people more, because she was never going to let him go as a friend. And she had no problem sleeping on him, like she used to do, when there were only two little exorcists in the Order. Just like before, he would be shy, but he would accept it, if it meant her being quiet, and she would be happy, because she got what she wanted and slept good at the same time.

She could never tell him that, but he was probably the most comfortable person in the world to sleep on. He smelt of copper and of flowers and of the new morning, all at the same time, and he always bended his body to suit her whenever she slept on him. She didn't want it to be like a relationship thing; she didn't like him, but she did want to teach him that you could do these things and not be in a relationship at the same time.

Under her hand, he tattoo felt like it was burning at the rush in human affection. She resented it, yet loathed it, wanting to know how it came to be, why it was there, if it hurt sometimes. But, she didn't want to pry too much. The drum of his heart against her ear was enough to tell her he was still there, and would remain there for as long as he felt like it.

She fell asleep on that cold, stormy, winter morning, feeling as if she was eight years old again.

He, on the other hand, looked down at the girl whom he had known for the best part of his life, and allowed somewhat of a smile to appear on his face, before letting it fall. He knew what she was up to. It was just like when she would fall asleep on him when she came back from missions because she never liked her bed. But it was not going to change anything. He would still remain as he was.

Things… never return to normal, no matter how much you want them to.

She would keep trying, because it was not Lenalee's nature to give up that easily, not to something like that. But, something inside was tugging at him, making him feel weird. Was it the feeling of another human against him, the feeling that he had deprived himself of for years, coming back? He looked mournfully at the patched up window, and wondered if he was ready to remove that obstruction and let all the old, forgotten emotions rush in.

It was early in the morning, and there he sat, with frown on his face and a glimmer of sorrow in his eyes.

And by the time dawn had broken, on that winter's morning, the storm had stopped, and he, the man who had been kept up by the cold, was asleep.

* * *

I hoped you liked it… My first fic… :3

Hell. Fire. Feline x


	2. Chapter 2: Fight

No matter how many times he walked past her, she always said 'hello'; or she wanted to talk to him. She didn't realise it got extremely annoying after a while. He didn't want to say hello, or talk, because he had various destinations to get too, and she kept holding him up for reasons that were totally unimportant in his eyes.

"Kanda! Kanda-kun!"

He sighed quietly to himself. Was that girl ever going to leave him alone?

"What do you want now?" He said irritably. Lenalee came to a skidding halt in front of him as he turned around, quite breathless as she had tried to keep up with his pace.

"I want to ask you something." She smiled. He arched an eyebrow elegantly.

"Oh? And what would that be?" He feigned patience.

"Spar with me!" She grinned. Kanda nearly choked on something invisible.

"That isn't a question, Lenalee." He sneered at her. "And what makes me think I would spar with _you?_"

"Well, why wouldn't you?" She planted her hands on her hips defiantly. Uh oh. Kanda knew this was going to get ugly very quickly if he said the wrong things.

"Because…" He breathed in. Many different lies raced through his head. _He just wanted her to GO AWAY._ "I… might hurt you…?"

No, it wasn't said with any real emotion, and she misunderstood what he meant. He might hurt her… because she was a _girl. _Damn him, if he thought that she was going to let this lie!

"I don't care. Don't _make _me fight you." She sounded very un-Lenalee-like. The sword-wielding exorcist looked down at her feet. She was wearing her boots.

"Lenalee, you'll kill me with those things." He was honest; in a fight against Lenalee and raw strength, she had an upper hand. Whilst he could cut through anything, she could break every bone in his body with a single kick. He shivered unpleasantly. Maybe he wouldn't hurt her, but the other way round…

"But…" Her face fell. "I want to fight… to get better…"

He glanced at her wearily. What did she hope to learn by being with him? Without boots, he'd hurt her; bad. And Komui wouldn't like that. With boots? He'd be eating through a straw for the next few months.

"… We'll use kendo."

"Kendo?" The girl became baffled.

"Don't ask; follow me if you want to fight, go away if you are just going to waste my time."

* * *

She was clumsy.

In her hand was a replica sword, made of bamboo wood. It was smooth and shiny, yet light to wield. She was clad in a plain, short skirt, a tight t-shirt, and her hair was tied back far behind her head. Her feet were bare, and were soft against the dojo's floor. The girl held it like an amateur; someone who had never used a sword before.

Kanda was opposite her. He was wearing his extraordinarily tight blue sleeveless top, with the turtle neck, and a pair of dark trousers. He stood with a pose, like a master in his natural environment, and it made Lenalee's nerves fray. He looked threatening, with his perfectly etched body poised like that, with the chords of his neck standing out at his throat, with his eyes fixed upon her so intently.

She suppressed the urge to quit.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The girl whimpered, clutching her sword close.

"You asked for it."

It was true.

"Are you ready?" His stance lowered and his eyes narrowed in explicit concentration.

"B-but I don't know-"

"Start!"

And he fell upon her.

She, always one to be nimble on her feet, barely dodged the blue blur that jumped her from the front. She span around to find he was almost within reach of her again, and as he slashed at her from the side, she ducked quickly and rolled out from underneath him in mid-flight.

"Kanda!" She said, alarmed, but he didn't stop. In a near repeat of the process, he kept slashing at her, nicking her sides, clipping her legs, grazing her shoulder. Every time, she had just managed to dodge. He flew at her; such speed! No wonder his anti-Akuma weapon had been so finely made.

"You are not thinking right!" She heard him say. "Think about it!"

She blinked, and he disappeared. There was a wisp of movement to her left, and she leant backwards to narrowly avoid the attack on her head. His face swept past hers, and her eyes drank in the sight.

He was _smiling. _

She immediately straightened up with a furious look on her face.

"Your going easy on me!" she hissed at him as he regained composure. He face was a blank slate; no, there was no emotion there, yet again. But his eyes held hidden laughter that made her boil with anger. She didn't want to be taken lightly because she was a _girl! _She could do this. She was going to beat him at his own game. She could fight, too!

"Don't go easy on me anymore, Kanda!" She yelled at him, tossing her kendo sword away. His eyebrows lowered from there high place on his brow. "I'm going to go all out!"

"Fine then." He took up his stance again, and held his sword in front of him. There was a hint of a smirk on his lips. "Don't say I didn't warn you-"

He never got to finish that sentence, because she had jumped up above him, way up high, and her leg was threatening to fall upon his head. He stood his ground, and with perfect aiming, he swiftly swung his sword upwards. Lenalee landed on the horizontal edge of the wooden blade hard, but it had no real effect, and she ended up balancing as he held it above his head steadily.

He looked up. She looked down. They both grinned.

She pushed down and flipped off her little platform, landing squarely in front of the man and he pivoted to meet her at his back. He let the blade naturally travel round to his side before flicking it up towards her chin quickly. She flipped backwards at that exact moment, knocking the sword sideways as she became upright. If she had done that to anyone else, it would have knocked the sword out of their hands. But that never happened with Kanda.

He was secretly admiring her. Even without her boots, her body hand been trained to be fast on her feet and to react with her legs. Truthfully, he was having a hard time getting in a hit on her, because she moved so fast. He was waiting for a weak point; a point where he could make her stumble.

She lunged towards him in a fly kick, and he batted her leg away hard with brunt force. Ouch; that was going to leave a visible bruise. She bowled over to his side, but quickly got up.

"Still want to fight?"

She ignored the throbbing pain, and darted towards him again. She could see the pupils of his eyes contract as his wooden sword flew to his shoulder as she tried for a roundhouse kick. Upon impact, Kanda felt the wood splinter a little within his hand. Such objects were not supposed to be tried so rigorously.

As she was about to jump back, he swiped the stick towards her side, batting her quite hard in her stomach before she could retreat. She rolled to the side and puffed heavily, winded by the blow. No, she wasn't going to quit; she could do this, she could beat him.

Kanda saw the fire blaze in her eyes. This wasn't over.

* * *

_Huff, huff, huff…_

They couldn't feel their bodies as they laid upon the cold, dojo floor. Lenalee ached in every place possible, and was sure that she had bruises in all those places, too. She looked over to her right, where she could see Kanda's chest heaving as he fought for air, each breath sounding raged and painful. She herself had lungs of sandpaper, and was breathing as hard as he was.

She managed to sit up, propping herself up on her aching elbows to stare at him. On his neck was a huge black spot, accompanied by other butterfly bruises, where she had landed a major blow on his throat whilst he had been occupied with the position of his feet. He had recoiled violently, choking on the air for a little while before he rebounded back, seemingly unaffected. It had obviously hurt more than he made out.

"Are… you… Ok?" She puffed, her frame shaking with exhaustion. His grey eyes turned to meet hers.

"I'm… fine…" He rasped, spluttering a little. He had never had such a challenging workout in the dojo before in his life. It wasn't just that she was strong, but she was also extremely fast, faster than him in fact, and he had a hard time keeping the sword (though light, it was still heavier than Mugen) up to her pace.

She frowned and curled back up at his side, eyes shining with concern.

"It looks really bad, Kanda-kun." She examined the bruise closely, following all the colors; black, blue, red, yellow. It was hideous to see, and seemed to engulf his whole neck right down to the hollow of his throat. Yet again, he turned just his eyes to meet her.

"Didn't… I… say…" He inhaled sharply. "It's fine?"

She prodded his ribs lightly with her finger, causing him the gasp.

"Don't lie to me." She breathed, but suddenly winced as he poked her leg.

"Oh, and… you are gonna act… like _that _didn't hurt?"

If she thought his bruise was bad, this one was equally as painful. It had occurred when she had got clumsy and had kicked out at him, and he, ever so quick, had stepped to her side and had cracked his sword down on her exposed calf. She brushed her fingers over it delicately.

"It's ok… it'll get better." She grinned at him, even if he didn't return it. He was still struggling with breathing (damn that girl!) and was trying to hide it as best as he could.

"Come on," he coughed. "Lets go."

He shakily got to his feet, pulling her up with him. Immediately, her legs gave in and she crumpled, falling back to the floor.

"Wah!" She cried, grabbing her legs. "Its hurts!"

Kanda just stared at her.

"You're over worked... You fought like you would if you had your boots on… but because you didn't, you've over done yourself." He clicked his tongue in recognition whilst she held out her arms to him.

"….." He continued to stare. "What?"

"Well, carry me."

"Huh?!" He didn't see how that was fair. Sure, he injured her, but wasn't it technically her fault? He stared deep into her eyes. They were pleading to him.

"I can't walk, Kanda-kun…" She sniffed, arms still out. His lips curved up into an irritated 'tsk', and he bent down and scooped her up as if she was nothing. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and then nearly let go as he made a painful sound through clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry!" She squeaked, trying to move away from the black skin as much as she could.

"Watch it, ok?" He hissed at her, turned round extremely slowly, and then walking to the dojo's exit.

For the second time in a short while, she felt comfort within his arms. His warmth was melting away her pain, making her feel sleepy. His hot breath ghosted the top of her head as he took in bountiful amounts of oxygen that his body was sorely lacking, and his chest was creaking with the effort of dragging himself and her through the empty halls of HQ.

"Don't strain yourself, Kanda." She whispered into his skin. "I don't want you to hurt yourself…"

"Tsk, like _you _could ever _really_ hurt _me._" He was lying. Of course she could hurt him; in more ways than one. However, she didn't need to know that he was thinking that.

A vein popped somewhere on her head.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She growled at him, looking up to his face. He kept his eyes dead ahead, but there was a slight smirk on his lips.

"Oh, nothing."

"Don't make me fight you again_, Kanda Yuu."_

"Don't call me that!!"

She shivered with emotion, but kept quiet. It was just good ol' Kanda being Kanda, a sour puss in the scheme of things. She gripped on tighter, making sure he wasn't going to let go of her suddenly. But, to his word, he kept on carrying her, not caring for the distasteful looks they were getting. She smiled to herself at that thought.

"Thank you, Kanda, for helping me." She beamed at him in a sudden change of mood. He simply regarded her with a short snorting sound he hoped sounded thankful from his broken throat.

They turned a corner.

And suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening. He was hoping he wouldn't be spotted by anyone important, but obviously, _that man _had some sort of tracker on her.

"Kanda…" Came the eerie voice. "_Kanda…"_

Bruises? Panting? Tiredness? One conclusion.

"G_et. Your. Hands. Off. My. LENALEEEEE!!!" _

And the man ran, with the girl in his arms, away from her brother, who was wielding some sort of weapon.

Lenalee kept smiling, and got ready to fight again.


	3. Chapter 3: Argue

_Tup tup tup tup tup…_

"Kanda-kun, please stop."

_Tup tup tup tup tup…_

"Stop, or you'll hurt yourself!"

"What do you think I am, an infant?"

"No, but you shouldn't-"

"Leave me alone, Lenalee!"

In the dark corridors or the Order, Lenalee was following Yuu Kanda, who was power walking so fast he was on the verge of running. The girl, yet again, had resorted to running just to catch up with him. He always walked so fast…even his walk this time was a little lopsided.

"Stop it!" She yelled at him, reaching out to grab his arm, but he flinched away.

She was chasing him for the sole reason that he was hurt, and he wouldn't admit it. His eyes were glazed, he was having trouble walking, and there was blood. _A lot _of it. She wouldn't have worried if it was anyone else, but this was Kanda, and she knew he would go on ignoring it until it beat him down violently. No-one else really cared; he usually came back from missions like this. But this time it was different. There was something wrong, for sure.

"Kanda-kun, please!"

"Stop it Lenalee, you are _not _my mother!"

"But I am your friend!"

He stopped, and so did she. There was a silence that suggested something, but she, too worried to figure out something as complex as the depth of silence, wrapped her arms around his stomach and ignored it. She held him tight yet tenderly, as if she was scared he was going to run away again.

The only sound for a little while was the harshness of their breathing. The man's hitched in his throat after he felt something at his stomach flare up in hurt, before dying again. It hurt. He swallowed the feeling of imminent dread and chose to address her as a distraction.

"Lenalee," she heard him say. "I am fine, I assure you. It takes more than this to hurt me."

She mumbled something into the torn fabric on his back, but he couldn't make it out. Instead, he just stood there as she hugged him, wincing as she squeezed a spot on him that sent spikes of agony through his body.

Missions involving him nearly always go right. This one had gone right, too, but he had to exchange some bodily harm for victory. He knew he was bleeding from multiple places, and his body ached with the pain of being on foot for hours in such condition. If he could have dropped there and then, he would have dropped and slept on the floor. But he couldn't. And he was never going to go to the damn nurse.

"I… don't want you to die, Kanda-kun."

He let out a snort of laughter.

"You think I am going to die… from this?" Something at the back of his mind was screaming at him to sleep, but he fought to stay awake. He argued with himself that he had had worse wounds before. Way worst, to the point of dying. And this wasn't dying. Yet.

Silence again. _No, he wouldn't, _the rational part of her brain was saying, on the same wave as his. _Its only minor injuries. _

"But there could be infection and then you could get sick…" She let go of him and he turned round slowly with an agitated look on his face. He was never one to appreciate concern. "At least, come with me, and I will help you."

His eyes hardened rapidly, and he shot her a glare that seemed to break her very soul in two. It angered him that she was going to put herself out to help him; he didn't think anyone would purposefully do that for _him. _It also annoyed him that she cared too much. But now was not the time to be pondering her when he could feel warmth seeping through his clothing at miscellaneous points.

He sighed, feeling something twist inside him at the feeling of helplessness.

"Fine." He grumbled moodily after a beat of decision. "Do whatever."

She clapped her hands in happiness childishly and clasped his hand in her own (much to his discomfort) and began to lead him to her room (very must to his discomfort). She was completely aware to his awkwardness at the seemingly simple touch, and hoped with all her heart that he didn't bolt suddenly and disappear, for sometimes he had a habit of running without warning.

"Don't worry, Kanda-kun." She smiled sweetly. "It'll be fine."

"Tch." His eyes glinted with an emotion that she didn't recognise in him.

Her room, he noted, was possibly the largest he had seen in the Order, and he was sure it came with the advantage of having a branch chief as a brother. It was pink, frilly, and had hoards of Komui merchandise everywhere; on the walls, on her king size bed, on the floor. She sighed unhappily.

"Even when I take down all this stuff, the cleaner who comes in everyday puts it all back up so I cannot win." There was the faint blush of embarrassment on her face. He cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. That stupid idiot Komui had to get a hobby sometime soon.

"Sit on the bed." The girl ordered, walking over to a closet. He remained stationary.

"I'll get blood on it." He huffed.

"It doesn't matter; the cleaner will give me a new bed cover by tonight." She said with a small smile, and proceeded to grab bits and bobs from the cupboard in a seemingly random fashion. He shrugged and sat down, trying not to ruin the plush pink cover as much as he could. After a little while, Lenalee span round with a box of things that ranged from bandages to needles to bottles of antiseptic. The man was mildly alarmed by it all.

"Where did you get…"

"Allen-kun comes here sometimes."

He visibly went rigid, and narrowed his eyes. He rose to his feet quickly and was about to walk out, but she roughly shoved him in the chest and fell back down. He fixed her with a look of disgust as she loomed over him. Allen?! That stupid bean-sprout!? He felt betrayal somewhere, for some reason. He didn't want to be treated in the same way she treated him.

Ah, it was a feeling of selfishness he felt. The very small part of his being that cared for Lenalee as his oldest 'friend' found it unfair that that idiot got the same care from her as him even when he had been here twice as long as he had. These feelings and thoughts were quickly beaten down as he let a sort of meaningless anger at something so trivial wash over him.

"I _don't _want the same treatment as that Bean-sprout!" He seethed. "I can do it myself!" She tutted angrily at his response.

"Kanda-kun, don't be irrational." She began to unpack things slowly.

"You and him are not like you and me." He sneered.

This struck a raw nerve in her. What was he insinuating? That she and Allen were _dating _or something? No, that wasn't like him. Maybe he was hinting at their different types of friendships? Allen and Lenalee's friendship was indeed different from his and Lenalee's… She had known Kanda and had cared for him longer! This made her angry. She didn't favour Allen, or anyone! She was friends with them both!

"Don't be a child!" She mumbled angrily at him. She picked up the pace of her unpacking, clearly irritated at his remark. "Get undressed."

The crudeness of it made him jump.

"What?!"

"I can't do your wounds if you are wearing clothes! So, take them off, or I will sedate you and do it all manually!"

Yep, she was _defiantly _her sisters brother. Disturbed at the sudden tone of her voice and the prospect of being stripped by a girl when he was asleep, he yanked off his exorcist coat to reveal that he was wearing a white, or once white, shirt that was drenched with now-cold blood both on the front and the back. Sticking to his skin, has tattoo was hard and inky against its scarlet front drop. He then unclipped the longer part of his coat off so that he was just in his trousers, and folded his arms across he chest. Every motion he made was stiff and painful to watch. She sighed impatiently again when he actually pouted.

"Keep going." She demanded.

"You're a girl."

"So? I've known you for years now, _way longer than anyone else_, in fact." The way she said that last bit told him she knew what he was thinking. "I have seen you in your boxers before. So hurry up and take your trousers off."

He paused uneasily, not embarrassed at the fact that he was effectively stripping in front of her, but because if anyone walked in, his reputation would be out the window. And if Komui found out… he'd be dead. But after these horrid thoughts, he did indeed take his trousers of so that he was down to a pair of jet black boxers that were pristine even if the rest of him wasn't. She marvelled at the condition of his legs, but she didn't keep her gaze there long because he took off his white shirt to reveal full extent of his injuries.

There was a stab wound at the side of his stomach and another one in his shoulder as far as she could tell from her view. Alongside that were scratches of all sides, and there were some bruises that were blackish purple there, too. Across his back, there was a huge gash that went from his neck to his lower back cleanly. His left leg a deep laceration, and what appeared to be yet another stab wound, this one shallower, above his knee. She gritted her teeth together in inner pain for him. He was so hurt, yet he was standing there casually, as if nothing was wrong!

_Slap._

She whipped her hand across his cheek and his head snapped to the side, but he didn't retaliate. He just turned slowly to look at her with an expression of confusion and incomprehension scrawled across his face.

"How…how did you get like this!?" She half spat, half cried. "Why did you let yourself get like this?! You could die, Kanda, right now!"

"I'm an exorcist, Lenalee-"

"You are an _idiot, _Kanda!" She wasn't going to cry. Not this time.

"Why is that?!"

"Because you could _die!_ Any other time it would be fine, because you heal fast and you never get really hurt, but look at you; you can barely _stand _or _walk _or anything! And even if you don't die this time, what about next time? It could be worse!"

"I won't die! Ever!" He yelled back. "This is nothing!"

"It's clearly something!" She retaliated. This momentary lapse of character didn't faze him in the least, and it agitated her to no end. She resisted the urge to stomp her feet in frustration and pointed to her bathroom. "Get in the shower."

"Why?!" This was sounding more and more weird to him. And it was getting more and more dangerous to stay.

"Because I can't make out what's a cut and what isn't with all this blood on you!" She fumed, and gathered up his clothes. She piled them in the corner and pointed towards the shower again when he didn't move. He had that face again, the one he made every time she got like this; when she got wild and too much for someone as simple as him to understand.

She felt something inside her crumble at the look, and she bowed her head to him. He always had had the power to reduce her to her basic fundamentals.

"…I hate it when we argue." She murmured. The girls eyes stayed fixed to the floor, hoping for a response of some sort, but instead she was met with silence. Kanda's expression didn't change, but he did walk over to the bathroom and the door clicked softly as he disappeared. A few seconds later, she could hear water running. He wasn't going to be long.

The man sighed at the release of tension in his body. The hot water felt good, cleaning out the hacked up flesh nicely. The water at his feet was pink. Even though it felt totally and utterly gorgeous to be in the shower, he was disturbed by the silence on the other side of the door, for the water was soft and made next to no noise.

Oh, Lenalee. She was always caught up in this storm of emotion. He was vexed at the sudden turn in events that had happened. Truthfully, he preferred her to the head nurse any day, and he hardly ever got time to talk to the girl these days… but he wasn't going to change himself for anyone. And Kanda _hated _help unless he really needed it. Did he really need this? He tsked to himself and cleared his throat.

"I'm coming out now."

She flushed at the implication, broke out of her misery, and turned around so that she didn't look like a some form of creepy stalker. There was that click again, and he appeared, a towel around his neck, his boxers back on, and just a few thin lines of red leaking from him. Truthfully, now that he was clean, his wound's didn't look as fatal as before. But she still felt awkward after her outburst, even if he had subtly attempted to fix it, so she just indicated the bed for him to sit down.

"Hot water makes wounds run more." She said simply, dabbing the one at his stomach with iodine and a cloth. He was wincing again, but said nothing and kept his eyes fixed to the top of her head silently. Some girls would die for this; she was with Kanda Yu, alone in a room, with him in just his boxers and his semi-wet hair plastered to his back. She was _touching _him, something that hardly anyone was able to do, and was the object of his attention. Yet, to her, she was in the room with Kanda Yu, her friend, someone whom she had looked up to since she was young, someone who she was helping with his injuries. She brooded in silence at this fact, and he noticed it.

"I hate it when we argue." He mumbled. Her head snapped up to him and she stopped her dabbing.

"Really?"

"Really." He concluded. She began to smile, big and hard, and her eyes swam with happiness at the statement. He half-smiled in response, awkwardly raised his hand and patted her head.

"I'm selfish for thinking that you didn't care."

"I am stupid for yelling at you, and for pushing my anger on you." She opened her arms out wide.

"…Hug?"

He looked at her wearily, but when she wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her head into the nape of his neck, he knew that they both found something in each other that no-one else could pinpoint. Maybe it was the length of their friendship, or the trust they had developed together, or the way they both knew what the other was thinking? Either way, not a single soul could test the bond they shared, that secret connection that made them who they were.

"No more arguments?" Her mouth moved softly against his skin. His reply brushed her ears and made her smile.

"No more arguments."

* * *

Daww, so cute!~3 I actually love these two. :D But remember; friend-shipficplz. No romance, no matter how much it may seem that there is. :P

HHF. x


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